I am writing to thank you for the help that you have recently given me. As I am sure you remember, we were discussing the many services that you offer and you mentioned that you dealt with phobias. So I told you about my fear of insects and in particular, arachnids. As a decorator I come across spiders daily, from small, little, almost cuddly creatures to the big fat hairy ones that would eat the cat.

You asked me to describe how I felt and acted and I explained the moderate level of panic, fear, squealing like a small child and a strong urge to run away.

We did some exercises and you asked me how I felt about them on a scale of one to ten. With each set the fear and panic lessened, and finally it became what it should be — a healthy respect for an important creature. I went to work and soon after a small(ish) spider alighted on my hand. Instead of screaming, I casually brushed it away. Since seeing you my acceptance of spiders has grown to the point where I picked one up yesterday and moved it out of the way, happily watching it scuttle under something else in my van.

I can only thank you for the help that you have given me — my nine year old now looks at me with new respect as I calmly remove spiders to the garden, rather than jumping up on the furniture screaming. I will happily recommend you to everyone that I know who has a fear of anything — I am confident that you will help them as you have helped me.